What's With Me?
by crypticxmetaphor
Summary: Squeal to What's With Him? Although you could probably read this without reading Part 1. Year 4 at Hogwarts.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

It was late June, and I was at Malfoy Manor. I had been staying there for the past week or so as I did every summer, and planned to stay until September first when I would return to Hogwarts. It's not that my uncle didn't like having me around, Uncle Sev loved me. He was always busy though, and worried about me spending so much time alone. That's why I'm always shipped off to his good friends, the Malfoys. This year; however, I was not dreading it as much as I normally did. Draco and I had "a thing." We weren't really a couple, but it has been established that he loves me and I kind of like him.

"Hey, Campbell," Draco said, bursting into my room and beginning to rummage through my drawers. "Where do you keep your bathing suits? We're going swimming."

I gasped. Yes, I did own a bikini, and a sexy black one at that. I had never worn it though and I never planned to. You see, I never learned how to swim. It was something I had avoided every year when Draco wanted to go swimming in the manor's large, indoor pool. "You will never see it, because I don't want to go swimming."

"You have said that every summer for the past four years," he groaned. "If you're not changed in five minutes, I'm ordering a house elf to get your ass down to the pool." He left.

I was not sure if he was joking or not. I thought it would be best to play it safe. Figuring I could go down to the pool without getting in, I slipped out of my clothes and into that bikini. It showed more skin than I was comfortable with and found a thin sundress to wear while walking to the pool. When I traveled through almost the entire manor, I found Draco already in the pool, treading water. I sat down gracefully on the edge, dipping my feet into the water.

"Come on in!" He laughed.

I shook my head in refusal.

"Come on!" He whined, and swimming over to me, took my hands a pulled me in.

"No! Draco!" I screamed. My mind began to panic, but I remembered reading something about flailing about did not help you to float. I latched on to Draco as gracefully as I could. My head went under, but only for a second and I came up sputtering. He held me bridal style and began slowly moving towards the shallow end of the pool.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I shook my head. "No." My voice came out softer than I had intended it to.

His eyes widened. "You can't swim! Why didn't you just say so? I wouldn't have pulled you in." Draco set me down where I could stand; his arms still on my waist.

"It's embarrassing," I mumbled.

He offered to teach me, and I agreed because I knew he wouldn't take no for an answer. It was the single most demeaning moment of my life so far. I felt like a little child. Draco had me hold on to the side while he rested his hands on my abs and taught me proper kicking and arm motions. He taught me to float, holding me up with his hands once again, and trying hard not to laugh every time I panicked and went under. Holding my breath underwater without holding my nose was the worst. It took me the longest to achieve and even afterwards, I would keep getting water up my nose. The stinging sensation in my sinuses made me want to quit. It was hours before Draco let me out of the pool, but I was felt that I was finally starting to get the hang of it.

"I'm proud of you," he said and kissed my nose.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

I returned upstairs in my room with a towel tied around my waist. Hellsong, the raven Draco had gotten me, was sitting on my desk with a letter in his beak. I took the envelope and pet the bird. My name was scribbled on the front in Fred Weasley's scratchy handwriting. I eagerly opened the letter as I took off my bathing suit and replaced it with jeans and a t-shirt.

Dearest Campbell,

Our Dad got us tickets to the Quidditch World Cup through a work friend. The whole family is going (except for mum), and we can bring friends! Ron wanted to invite you, Harry, and Hermione. We decided that wasn't fair to us, so we're inviting you instead. Ron will have to settle for Hermione and The Boy Who Lived. Get to our house Sunday at five by Floo Powder or we're going to kidnap you. Oh! And mum says you can spend the rest of the summer here too!

You can thank us when we see you,

Feorge and Gred

I laughed. I realized that I would have to pack everything for the rest of the summer and school and write to my Uncle, telling him of my plans all in the span of two days. I decided to start with the letter to my uncle. Sitting down, I grabbed a quill to write with just as Draco entered my room.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm going to see the Quidditch World Cup with the Weasleys!" I squealed, giving him Fred and George's letter to read.

"Oh."

"What's wrong?" I asked, disappointed with his response.

He shook his head at me. "Why wouldn't you want to go with my family? The Weasleys will have the cheap seats." His voice was vindictive.

I stood up. "Because I like them!" I shoved Draco out of the room. How dare he talk like that to me about my friends? Maybe I was wrong assuming he would be nice because I started acknowledging his affections. I slammed the door in his face and then after I calmed down, continued the letter. "Dear Uncle Sev…" After I finished, I sealed it and gave it to Hellsong to deliver. "Give this to Uncle Sev," I instructed. "I'll be here until Sunday night, later than that; come to The Burrow."

The bird squawked, took the letter, and flew off.

I then packed everything I would need, save for a few clothes for the next couple of days.

A little before five o'clock on Sunday, I made my way down to the grand room with the fireplace. I still had not spoken a word to Draco, not that I sought him out, but he seemed to be avoiding me as well. Taking a deep breath, I grabbed Floo Powder from the vase on the mantle. Stepping inside the fireplace with my trunk, I threw down the powder calling, "The Burrow!" Green flames engulfed me and around I spun until I landed in a much smaller fireplace in a cozier and noisier house. I was at the Weasleys. I stepped out into the living room and shook some ashes from my clothes. Mrs. Weasley was there waiting for me with Hermione and Ginny.

"Oh, Campbell, good to see you!" she hugged me.

"Hello, Mrs. Weasley."

"The boys went to pick Harry up, but they'll be back any minute," she explained after releasing me. "You three girls will be sharing a room, so…"

"Let's go put your trunk upstairs," Ginny piped in.

I grinned at her and Hermione. "Sure, let's go."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

I was woken up too soon on the morning of the World Cup. The sun had yet to rise and it felt far from dawn. Groggily I dressed and packed my rucksack. I was sure I looked unkempt, but I was far too tired to care. I went to join the others downstairs for breakfast, but none of the boys were there.

"Where's everyone else?" I asked Mrs. Weasley.

"Oh they'll be down soon. Lazy boys," she chuckled pleasantly.

I couldn't understand why she was awake so early. She wasn't coming with us, and yet she woke up early enough to make us all breakfast. The four boys then came plodding down the stairs; Fred, George, Ron, and Harry. They mumbled hellos as they took their seats. I didn't know it was possible to be more tired than I was. After we had finished eating, we told Mrs. Weasley good-bye and followed Mr. Weasley outside. The portkey was a couple miles away and we hiked the entire time.

"Almost there, this time I mean it," Mr. Weasley said.

Every time we complained about the journey, he would respond with an "almost there". This time he was not lying. We were almost to the time of the hill. I could see two men standing around some object. I thought it was the portkey. As we approached, I recognized the younger man. It was Cedric Diggory, my friend, and a sixth year Hufflepuff at Hogwarts. The other must have been is father, Amos, who I've never met before.

"Ced!" I called, glad to see him.

He turned around at the sound of his name. "Hello there."

Introductions were said, and we made a circle around the portkey. It was a ragged, old boot. I guess it used to be a man's brown boot, but it was hard to tell.

"Is that all of us?" Amos asked.

"Yes, I believe so," Mr. Weasley replied.

"Alright then. Everybody grab on," said Amos.

I reached forward and held on to an edge of the boot. "3…2…1…" I heard a voice countdown. At one, the boot and all of us holding on to it, spun upwards into the sky. We spun so fast, I had to close my eyes to quell the nausea and not be sick. "Let go!" I heard the voice call again, and so I did. I let go with the rest of the group and landed on the ground with a thud. Hermione, Harry, Ron, Fred, George, and Ginny, were all laying on the ground next to me. Looking up, I saw the Diggorys and Mr. Weasley casually floating down.

"Alright?" Cedric asked, offering me a hand.

I accepted and helped me up. "I'm fine." I brushed myself off.

"So who are you cheering for?" he asked as we began walking.

"Ireland," I grinned up at him.

"Ireland?" Ron piped up. "Why Ireland? Bulgaria is much better."

I laughed. "Because not much beats a man in a kilt."

The whole group laughed as I said this. I was relieved that the atmosphere was light. I was nervous that I would see Draco. I suspected that he was still mad at me, for our recent row. It wasn't long before we arrived at the site of the match. Looking down into the valley we could see thousands of tents scattered about. We parted ways with the Diggorys and went off to find our own tents. It was truly magnificent to see some of the wizarding families and their set ups. We had two tents side by side, one for the girls and one for the boys. They were quite boring compared to others, but Mr. Weasley was one for following rules, especially ones about "blending in with muggles."


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Mr. Weasley's friend had gotten us seats in the Minister's box. It was literally the best seat in the house. The Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge, was already there with a couple important people, and there was a house elf with apparently no master.

"Dobby?" Harry asked, thinking the little elf was the same as the Malfoy's old house elf; the one who tried to save Harry's life in our second year.

The elf turned around. It was not Dobby, but a female elf. "I is not Dobby, sir!" she squeaked. "I is not Dobby, sir!" she squeaked.

I chuckled. Elves did look a lot alike from behind.

"Ah, Lucius. Good to see you," I heard from behind me and turned around.

The Minister of Magic was shaking hands with Lucius Malfoy. Behind Lucius stood Narcissa Malfoy, his wife, and their son, Draco. I watched them as Lucius spoke to the Minister. "My I present my wife Narcissa," he said and she stepped forward. The Minister took her hand and kissed the top of it. "And my son Draco." Draco now stepped forward and shook hands with the Minister.

He didn't notice me watching him yet, so I turned back around facing the Quidditch Pitch. However, he did notice the bright red hair of the Weasleys. "What did you have to do to get these seats, sell your house?" he chuckled loud enough for Ron and Harry to hear, but no one else noticed.

"You're only bitter because you don't have friends that wanted to come to the match with you, Draco," I said.

He turned around to face me. "Campbell!" he said, his face turning red. "I didn't see you there."

"Obviously," I replied and heard Ron chuckle.

Draco walked closer to me, choosing to ignore my friends. "How are you?" he asked.

Before I could respond, Cornelius Fudge began announcing. First the Quidditch players from each team were introduced. Then, the Minister announced the mascots. Ireland had brought leprechauns with them and leprechaun gold rained down on the spectators as they entered the pitch. Bulgaria's mascots were veela. For those who don't know, Veela are enchantingly beautiful women who have the power to enchant men, however; Veela can be nasty and turn ugly. When the Veela entered the pitch, Harry and Ron's faces glazed over. They were completely taken in by the creatures. It was obvious the two of them would do anything to receive attention from a Veela. Ron and Harry were hollering and cheering.

"Why aren't you acting stupid for the Veela?" I asked Draco.

"Because I have something better to look at," he replied.

My heart sighed and we each leaned in for a kiss. It wasn't romantic, it was cheesy, but I had missed talking to him. "Ow!" I said. Draco had fallen on top of me.

"Sorry, sorry!" he apologized, but it was not his fault; Draco was not the clumsy type.

It turns out Hermoine had knocked in to Draco while pulling Harry off the ledge. Harry had thought a good way to get the Veela to notice him would be to jump. Thank God, someone who was not distracted with hormones or our group would have been minus one. Draco turned away from me, probably to tell her off. I grabbed the collar of his jacket, jerking him back towards me.

"Leave it be," I told him.

Draco nodded, but didn't try to kiss me again. Instead he just put his arm around my shoulders, guiding me in front of him. He stood with an arm on either side of me in an attempt to be protective as we watched the match.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

The match was over, and we were all back in the tent, having a good time. Ireland had won, but Bulgaria's seeker, Viktor Krum, had caught the snitch. Now, Fred and George were dancing a jig while pretending to play the pipes. You could hear the Ireland fans celebrating outside. There was music and cheering, some were even lighting off fireworks.

"The Irish have really got their pride on tonight," Fred or George said, I wasn't really paying attention.

"It's not the Irish," Mr. Weasley said in a frantic voice. "Everybody grab your things, and stick together."

We all ran to get our packs and then ran outside into the middle of an attack. Spells were flying and people were screaming. My face must have shown my shock and my fear because Fred squeezed my shoulder and told me it was alright.

"Head for the woods," Mr. Weasley called. "Fred and George; Ginny is your responsibility!"

George nodded and grabbed Ginny's hand. The seven of us ran for the woods just as we were instructed to do. The chaos was so overwhelming that I had no idea what was going on. I was so scared that night that I blocked most of it from my memory. I only recall glimpses and phrases from then until we returned to the Burrow. I remember reached the tree line and looking back over my shoulder at the damage already done. Harry wasn't there. I counted Ron, Hermione, Fred, George, and Ginny, but no Harry. I opened my mouth to say something, but I don't know what I said. I also remember getting separated from Hermione and Ron, but I don't recall how. Now when the others talk about it, I remain quiet and nod my head where I need to. It's embarrassing because Harry seems to know every little bit of what went on.

The ride to school on the Hogwarts Express was left me irritated at best. Harry, bless his poor soul, kept complaining about a repeated dream he'd been having since the summer. Everyone seemed to want to discuss the World Cup, but every time someone got close to the subject, the conversation changed direction. I ended up falling asleep with my head against the window, tired of the discussion.

"You missed Malfoy," Hermione told me when I woke up.

"What?" I asked. I had no idea what she was talking about.

"Malfoy came by while you were napping. He was bragging about something, but honestly he just sounded mad," she explained.

I laughed. "What was he bragging about?"

"Not sure," Harry said. "Said he was going to enter something. Then he poked fun at Ron's dad, because Ron didn't know what he was talking about. Like Hermione said, he just sounded mad."

I shrugged. I had an idea of what he was talking about. Uncle Sev told me Hogwarts was going to host a prestigious even this year called the Triwizard Tournament. He refused to tell me anything else though, and I had never heard of the tournament before. "I've heard of it, but I don't really know anything about it. He could have been going on about anything, really."

It was all explained when he arrived at the school. Dumbledore made sure to explain everything in his opening speech. Three different schools; Durmstrang, Beauxbatons, and Hogwarts would each have a student elected to participate in three extremely difficult tasks. A champion from each school was to be chosen on Halloween and the other schools were to arrive in October; one month from now. The winner would receive money and "eternal glory". I could care less about risking my neck for glory, but others saw this as a great opportunity. When Dumbledore announced that only students seventeen and older could enter, due to safety issues, the Great Hall was filled with grunts of dissent and shouts of anger.

"That's rubbish!" The Weasley twins called. They were upset because they wouldn't be seventeen until after Halloween.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

On the first of October, all our classes were canceled and we were summoned to the Great Hall. Hermione and I linked arms and descended the stairs from the common room. "Are you excited to meet the students from the other schools?" I asked.

Hermione smiled. "You have no idea. It'll be so interesting; learning about how different Durmstrang and Beauxbatons Academy are from Hogwarts."

"I'm more excited about the girls from the other schools," a familiar voice chortled.

I turned around and saw Ron walking up to us along with Harry. Both of them looked as if they had just woken up. Ron's bright hair stuck up in all directions and Harry's glasses were askew.

"You would be thinking about the girls," I laughed.

The Great Hall was filled much as it was during the Sorting Ceremony and feast. I sat down at the Gryffindor table with my friends, and looked towards the entrance of the Great Hall. I was looking for the other schools, but Hogwarts students were still filing in. I spotted Draco. I thought that maybe I should wave to him, or smile; acknowledge his presence. I didn't, though; it was just as well because he didn't look my way. Hermione was convinced that we were dating, but we weren't. He liked me and sometimes, I was attracted to him. That was it; the extent of our relationship. Once everyone was settled, Dumbledore introduced the Beauxbatons Academy. Entered a large woman, maybe even taller than Hagrid, with brown hair and a stern face. She was Madame Maxime, the headmistress. Behind her there were about a dozen girls dressed in pale blue. They walked through the Great Hall like dancers; they carried themselves leading with the space between their shoulder blades and their heads held high. There was one girl in particular that everyone seemed to notice. She had flowing blonde hair and a beautiful face; everyone turned her head to watch her pass.

"Blimey," Ron said. "They don't make them like that at Hogwarts."

"They make them alright here," Harry commented.

I followed his gaze to the Ravenclaw table. He was looking at Cho Chang, a fifth year. I tried not to laugh. I looked back at the girl from Beauxbatons, she must have been part Veela. She was way too pretty, it was unnatural.

Next entered the students from Durmstrang. Their headmaster, Karkaroff was a surly man. He had dark hair and a goatee that curled off his chin. His students wore fur lined uniforms and capes. These boys were very militaristic compared to anyone I had seen before.

"It's Krum! It's Viktor Krum!"

I looked and sure enough there was Vikort Krum, seeker of the Blugarian Quidditch team, walking through the Great Hall in Durmstrang robes. I knew he was young, but this was downright odd.

"I had no idea he was still in school," Harry said.

"Me either," I replied. Krum was a bit pigeon-toed and his shoulders were hunched, rounded. Still, he was very attractive. Him being a famous athlete might have helped as well.

The students from the different schools found spaces to seat among the Hogwarts students. Ron tried shoving us over to make room for Krum, but the Durmstrang kids were already heading towards the Slytherin table. Krum sat next to Draco and Ron let out a heated growl.

I laughed. "Calm down, I highly doubt Krum will be interested in him for long."

Dumbledore spoke again. "And now, let us entertain our guests in the best way we know how."

Each Hogwarts student picked their favorite melody, as was the tradition, and began to sing. Most notably, I sang a funeral march with Fred and George. "Hogwarts. Hogwarts. Hoggy- Wartty, Hogwarts, teach us something please! Whether we be old and bald, or young with scabby knees!"

Karkaroff and Maxime did not look pleased with the rendition of our school song. Hogwarts seemed to be an undisciplined mess compared to their schools. Seeing the look on their faces made me laugh. After the song was finished, the welcome feast began.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

All the students had gathered in the Great Hall. We were packed in close with the kids from the other schools. At the front of the Hall, the Goblet of Fire flickered. The younger ones' faces were intrigued; their faces' devoid of emotion, unblinkingly stared as blue flames licked upward. I was wedged tightly between Fred and George, across the table from Harry, Hermione and Ron. The air was thick. I had to remove my cloak or begin sweating. Craning, my neck, I was able the mop of blonde hair that was Draco. He was sitting next to Viktor Krum. I was wondering if he had figured out a way to enter his name.

Dumbledore strode forward, towards the Goblet and silence fell over the room, like a blanket stifling all sound. Before each name of the Triwizard Champions was announced, the flames in the Goblet turned red and spit out a slip of parchment paper into the air. Dumbledore caught the first name.

"Durmstrang's champion- Viktor Krum!"

Thunderous applause erupts amongst the Durmstrang students. Viktor rises, bows his head and walks towards Dumbledore. He takes the piece of paper bearing his name and receives instructions from our headmaster. Taking his place as a champion, Viktor waves to his classmates and then disappears through a door behind the teachers' table.

"From Beauxbatons- Fleur Delacour!"

There is less applause for Fleur as she rises from her place. Her classmates are crying out their disappointment instead of supporting her. After speaking with Dumbledore, she too, disappears through the same door as Krum.

"From Hogwart's Hufflepuff House- Cedric Diggory!"

Most of the room bursts into applause, with Hufflepuff House as the loudest. I place to fingers in my mouth and whistle, grinning. "Good for you Ced," I thought to myself. A few of the older Gryffindors clapped politely, wishing it was they who had been picked.

Dumbledore raised his hands, to quiet us so that he could speak. "And so our Champions…"

He was cut off by the Goblet. With a whooshing sound, the flames shot upwards, once again turning red. How could it be doing this? Three names have already been chosen. A piece of parchment flew up and Dumbledore snatched it out of the air. "Harry Potter!" he called, anger in his voice. All began to whisper. Harry was not seventeen, not even close. "Harry Potter!" he called again when Harry did not respond.

Harry looked to us, desperate and unsure what to do. I shrugged. Hermione elbowed him to stand up. He walked slowly to the front of the Hall, looking over his shoulder, waiting for someone to tell him to sit down. No one did. Head down, Harry took his name from Dumbledore and went into the back room. There was no speech this time. Dumbledore dismissed us all to our dormitories and then led the way to the Champions.

"What the hell was that?" I asked, standing up to leave.

"Couldn't you tell?" Ron quipped. "Harry put his name in the Goblet without telling us."

I shook my head. "That's impossible. There was no way to get around that age line! And besides the Goblet knows to only pick three names. Three, not four."

"You really know how to pick your friends." Draco said, walking next to me.

"You're just jealous that he found a way to get his name into the Goblet," I replied.

He snarled and took off in the direction of the Slytherin common room.

"I thought you just said Harry didn't put his name into the Goblet," Hermione pointed out.

"He didn't, but Draco doesn't need to know that."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The next day I found myself regretting my words. Harry and I had just exited the castle when we heard Malfoy's voice.

"Oi! Potter!"

We look up and there he was lounging in the branches of a tree.

"My father and I have a bet, you see," he continued. "He doesn't think you're going to last ten minutes in this tournament." He jumped down from the tree and landed lightly on his feet; I was impressed. He fixed his robe before speaking again. The jerk knew I was paying attention to him. "I think you won't last five."

Harry went to swing at Draco, but I held him back. "Not worth it," I said. We turned away, but all of a sudden, Mad-Eye Moody was there and where Draco had once stood was a ferret. I raised my hands to my mouth, startled.

"I teach you to attack someone when his back his turned," Moody mumbled. "Bloody Coward!"

By now a crowd had gathered to watch as Moody made the ferret fly. They laughed, but I was horrified as Moody sent the ferret down Crabbe's pants. Luckily McGonagall showed up as Malfoy-ferret slithered out of Crabbe's pant cuff.

"Alastor!" she cried. "What are you doing?"

"Teaching," he huffed.

"Is that a student?"

"Maybe."

She waved her wand and the ferret became Draco.

His hair was frazzled and his eyes were wide. One look at Moody and he sprinted away.

"Come back here, boy! I could tell you stories about your father that would make even your greasy hair curl!" Moody yelled after him.

"We never use transfiguration as punishment. Surely, Dumbledore told you that."

"He might have mentioned it."

"Oh, I feel awful. Should I go see if he's alright?" I said.

Harry looked at me like I had five heads. "He was going to curse me while my back was turned."

"You're right, sorry."

"Potter!" Moody growled and we turned around to look at the strange man's face. "Come with me."

Harry looked at me. Staring back at him, I shrugged. I had no clue what Moody could want from him. Moody was already walking away and Harry ran after him. I looked around and no one seemed to be paying me any mind so I ran after Draco. I caught up with him in the corridors, he was walking with Crabbe and Goyle and was still trying to smooth down his hair. I cut him off, standing there so he couldn't continue walking.

"Leave me alone," he growled.

"Erm no," I said "What's wrong? Usually I'm the one who says go away."

He glowered at me. He tried to go around me, but I side-stepped preventing him from moving. Seeing that he could not get rid of me, he waved Crabbe and Goyle away. He began walking again, but instead of stopping him, I fell in with his stride.

"Seriously, though, are you alright?" I asked.

"Fine,' he snapped. "Just…"

"Embarassed?" I offered.

Draco sneered at me and I knew I had it right.

"Don't worry," I squeezed his arm. "They'll forget all about it as soon as the Tournament starts, well Fred and George will ride it out, but that's just them." I laughed, but he still looked deadly serious. "Come on. Walk me to Potions."

Draco acquiesced and walked beside me down to the dungeons. He was silent, but was no longer grimacing at everyone and everything.


	9. Chapter 9

You deserve a longer update than this, I'm sorry. I'm sorry it's been so long and this is only a filler.

Chapter 9

The fire cackled in front of me as I sat in one of the velvet chairs of the common room. It was late, well past curfew, but Harry had never turned up. As I sat, I worried, recalling his worries about his scar bothering him. I heard the door open and someone walk inside. I knew right away it was Harry.

"You were out late," I said as he tried to tiptoe past where I was sitting.

"I didn't think you'd still be up," he responded.

I looked at him, tilting my head at his blatant lie. When wasn't I up? "I at least hope you were doing something to prepare yourself for the first task."

"As a matter of fact, I was, Hermione." He took the seat across from me, ready to explain.

I grimaced when he addressed me as Hermione, although I had to admit I did sound a bit like her. I leaned back in the chair. I couldn't see Harry in the dark, only the flickering flames from the hearth reflecting in his glasses.

"Dragons," he said.

"Holy shit," I breathed. There was no advice I could give him. I've never seen a dragon before, I knew nothing about them. "You should talk to Ron, his brother works with dragons."

"You think Ron's gonna talk to me?"

I shrugged. "It's worth a shot."

When the first task finally came around, I still wasn't quite sure what Harry's strategy was. He was a good sport, and informed Cedric, but Ced hadn't told me what his strategy for the task was either. I stood in between Ron and Hermione biting my nails and with a wool cap pulled over my ears. Fred and George were taking bets on the competitors, which I'm pretty sure was illegal. They brought out the first dragon and I almost yelped out of shock. The thing was enormous and could easily kill a student; it could easily leave the pit it was in and kill me.

All four contestants succeeded in retrieving the golden egg the dragon had been guarding. Harry opened his in the common room during his party. It was exciting. We all closed in around him, excited to hear the clue about the next task. I looked around at the anticipation on the faces around me, of my fellow classmates, and I was one of them. Harry had been hoisted up by Fred and George and they held him on their shoulders.

"You want me to open it?" Harry called.

Everyone cheered.

"Do you want me to open it?!" He asked louder holding it above his head.

Again, everyone cheered, louder in response to his call.

He twisted the hinge on the top of the egg and the four sides fell, releasing a painful wail like that of a screaming banshee. Immediately, my hands flew up to cover my ears. Fred and George did the same, bending over and dropping Harry in the process. Nearly the whole common room was on the floor when Harry finally managed to close the egg.

"The bloody hell was that?" a voice in the door asked.

I turned to see Ron, and grinned.


End file.
